| John Gwynn |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT JOHN GWYNN | |
| 1713 births | |
| gwynn, john | |
| 1786 deaths | |
| people from shrewsbury | |
| english architects | |
| english civil engineers | |
| bridge engineers | |
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John Gwynn ( 1713 – 28 February 1786 ) was an English Architect and Civil Engineer of the 18th Century , and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768 . Born in Shrewsbury , Shropshire , he worked initially as a carpenter, but then decided to practice as a (largely self-taught) architect and town planner, and moved to London , where he also became a friend of Samuel Johnson . In 1749 , he re-worked Sir Christopher Wren 's plan for the rebuilding of London, writing ''An Essay on Design, Including Proposals for Exciting a Public Academy to be supported by Voluntary Subscription''. Seventeen years later, in 1776 , he published ''London and Westminster Improved'', arguing that the Great Fire Of London 100 years earlier had presented a golden opportunity to improve the layout of the city. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Building Act 1774 which improved standards of materials and workmanship – Bedford Square was one of the first areas of London to benefit. In 1759, he unsuccessfully submitted a design for Blackfriars Bridge which he lost to Robert Mylne . But he retained involvement in several bridge projects. He was particularly associated with projects in Oxford , including Magdalen Bridge (1772-90), the city's workhouse (1772-1773) and the covered market (1774), and with bridges across the River Severn including one in his native Shrewsbury (the English Bridge, 1774), and others at Atcham ( 1776 ) and Worcester ( 1781 ). He died in Shrewsbury in early 1786. |
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